Wolf's Cry
by TJ Robinson
Summary: One-shot. “Dead. Everything had died. The gloom of the night had covered the entire Earth, and not a soul took breath beyond the last glimmer of the sun...”


A/N: An attempt at a true angst story, as well as a third-person story. I also wanted to try using Ryou as a protagonist to see what it was like, and to be honest, it was pretty enlightening.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply.

* * *

**Wolf's Cry**

_Silence of the night_

_An illusion created by_

_The wolf's cry and I'm_

_Still hoping the dawn _

_Will come._

Dead. Everything had died, the gloom of the night had covered the entire Earth, and not a soul breathed beyond the last glimmer of the sun. Chilling as the feel was, one being had found the courage to wander at this time of night.

Ryou Bakura aimlessly wandered down the corridors of his apartment building, holding a rifle, searching in the darkness for the front door. After almost falling down the stairs, he had managed to catch himself and walk out the front door, looking behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed.

Not that he minded company. But tonight was different from all those convivial nights, which he had spent talking hours on end with his friends. Yes, Ryou was a social person by nature; it's just that tonight he preferred to be alone. Just to make sure no one will get hurt, he told himself, otherwise he would have been glad to have someone who could support him during this time.

Ryou had a problem. A big problem, and he didn't know what to do about it. He didn't want to confront his friends; he suspected that they thought he was an addict to something. They treated him differently now, talking slower and more precisely as well as constantly telling him that he could get over this little issue.

He hadn't really looked at himself in the mirror recently, but he thought he couldn't look that much like an addict. He had never touched drugs or alcohol, nor did he plan to in the future.

_'Great'_, he thought, _'Now I don't have anyone to talk to about my issue._'

His last thought had been talking to Bakura, and he had only gone to him as a last resort.

To Ryou's surprise, Bakura new what his problem was. Ryou remembered the talk as clear as yesterday...

* * *

"You're becoming part of the darkness." Bakura reclined back in his chair, waiting for Ryou's response.

"What?"

"You heard me. You're becoming part of the darkness, which I'd like to remind you is not exactly a good thing."

Bakura leaned forward, and motioned Ryou to come closer to him.

When Ryou was hesitant, Bakura pulled him closer and whispered.

"Look, there is one solution to your problem, but I'm not sure that you'll approve."

"Tell me. I don't want to become like you."

Bakura ignored Ryou's remark. "You have to go into the woods, during the night of the full moon. Then, walk to a clearing, about ten miles into the woods. Wait there until you hear..."

Bakura paused. "Wait until you hear the 'Wolf'. Its cry is distinct; it sounds almost like it's saying 'Face me in the light of glory'... whatever that means."

Ryou was silent for a minute before he spoke.

"So all I have to do is hear this 'Wolf' and I'm cured?"

Bakura gazed down at his shoes.

"Not quite. There's more to it than that, but it's pretty gruesome. First, you must find the 'Wolf', and then you have to..."

Bakura stopped, "Are you sure you want to hear the rest?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure." Ryou was nervous. He hadn't realized that the problem was serious; it had just been a side-thought that was pushed away by the clutter of his mind.

"After you find the 'Wolf', you have to kill it. After it's dead, drink its blood and you will be cured."

Bakura stole a glance at Ryou, and saw shock come over his face.

"I...I have to kill it?"

Bakura stood up began to walk towards the door.

"Yes, that's correct. If you don't, then you will become the darkness and that'll be the end of it. It's your choice."

He turned around.

"I should warn you: There is another 'Wolf' in the woods as well. But this 'Wolf' won't help you if you drink its blood, in fact, if you drink its blood, a great punishment will be brought upon you. So make sure you have the right wolf. If its call 'Face me in the light of glory', you're fine. But if its call is 'Face me in the lands of darkness', you've got the wrong wolf."

"Yes, thank you for your help, Bakura."

Bakura left the room, leaving Ryou to fade away in an abyss of thoughts...

* * *

Ryou continued towards the woods, the cool, breezy night caused his body to quake with cold and fear. He stopped at the entrance of the woods, wondering if this was the right thing to do. His grip tightened on the rifle, and he started to think.

_'Why should I kill another creature for my own sake of living?_'

He began to doubt going to kill the creature, but then remember what he had said to Bakura: _I don't want to become like you._

Bakura stood for was everything Ryou hated, even though for some strange reason he had helped him.

Ryou stopped. Was Bakura lying to him?

"He wants me to go into the woods. He wants me to get lost, so then I can't stop him and his little plans. Well, I won't go in!" Ryou shouted into the night, his eyes showing a greater hate than ever thought imagined could be held by him.

Ryou Bakura, the boy who had let everyone step all over him, was becoming everything he stood against. And he knew it. Ryou held back the tears, like he always had.

Always he had hid his sadness from the world, not wanting people to see the hurt that clearly showed through. It was then Ryou realized he was sick of being stepped on, sick of hiding his fears and not being able to cry out to the world about his great misery.

He ran into the woods, filled with a hatred so great that if unleashed, could have been fatal.

He ran for what seemed like hours, until he tired out and started to walk. After walking for about 20 minutes, Ryou saw the clearing appear. It was about 5 yards away, and he ran to it through the trees. The size of the clearing was misleading. From far away, it appeared to be no bigger than ten or twenty feet big, but upon closer inspection, Ryou saw it was closer to ninety or one-hundred feet across.

Ryou walked to the center of clearing and checked his watch.

"One-thirty in the morning? I must've come a long way if it's this late."

He stood in the center of the clearing and put down his rifle, waiting for the cry of the 'Wolf'. About a half an hour later, he heard the call.

"Face me in the l--"

Ryou didn't wait and listen for the rest; he could feel himself sliding into the darkness of his soul. He grabbed his rifle and followed the cries.

Five minutes later, he came upon a great creature. He couldn't see it well in the darkness, all he saw was a shadow of a wolf from which the sound was coming.

"Please let this work..."

Ryou raised the rifle and fired into the darkness. A bang followed, as well as a loud thud.

He saw the creature fall, the blood coursing from its body. Not waiting to see if it had completely died, Ryou ran over to the creature and stared at it. It was at least 6 feet long, its legs sprawled across the ground and its fangs gleaming white. Not wanting to waste a drop of what he desperately needed, Ryou cupped his hands and gathered the blood from the wound. He brought his hands to his lips and began to drink the liquid.

It tasted putrid, like dead, burning flesh.

Ryou squirmed as he drank it, and after he finished he held back the urge to throw up. Ryou looked at the dead Wolf but saw it had vanished, blood and all. He looked around, thinking maybe another creature had taken it while he was drinking. He continued to look around, but suddenly, his gaze froze on something so magnificent, a glory in the darkness of the woods.

It was formed like a wolf, but it showed a translucent white that glowed like the morning sun. Its eyes were the most brilliant shade of green, and its radiance stunned Ryou.

It raised its head and began to cry out, "Face me in the light of glory!"

Ryou couldn't move, his limbs were like ice and his whole body radiated a cold darkness.

Then he felt it. Like a burning knife was cutting into his soul, he felt himself growing into the darkness of the woods.

"No, I killed the wrong Wolf! Lord no, this can't be happening..."

These regrets were soon replaced with a blood-curdling cry that seemed to echo throughout the Earth.

Nothing remained; Ryou had disappeared into the dark, his soul absorbed by the darkness of the world. The woods became silent once more, as they had been before the light had dawned upon the world.

But the eerie silence of the woods was soon broken...

...and the wolf's cry brought forth the light of the dawn.


End file.
